Bill Text: WV HB5035 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: To require voter ID cards to come with a photograph of the individual

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 11-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-23 - To House Judiciary [HB5035 Detail]

Download: West_Virginia-2024-HB5035-Introduced.html

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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2024 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 5035

By Delegates Vance, Martin, Longanacre, Brooks, Nestor, Hornby, Hite, Bridges, Dean, Chiarelli, and DeVault

[Introduced January 23, 2024; Referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §3-2-1 and §3-2-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring all voter registration cards to be photo ID cards that are updated as frequently as all identification issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, listing where and how these cards can be obtained, and providing that these shall be produced free of charge to eligible voters.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

 

Article 2. Registration of Voters.

§3-2-1. Permanent voter registration law; uniform system of voter registration.

(a) This article, providing a permanent and uniform system for the registration of the voters of the State of West Virginia, may be cited as the "Permanent Voter Registration Law."

(b) A permanent voter registration system is hereby established which shall be uniform in its requirements throughout the state and all of its subdivisions. No voter so registered shall be required to register again for any election while continuing to reside within the same county, unless the voter's registration is canceled as provided in this article.

(c) Upon a voter's registration, a photo ID shall be issued for that voter as the voter registration card. If the voter has already been registered to vote prior to the enaction of this article, this photo voter ID is not mandatory, but may be obtained at the DMV, the Secretary of State's office and hubs, or at the County Clerks' offices, or the County Sheriff's Department where the voter resides, or through the DMV website or the Secretary of State's website using a photo on file at the DMV.

(d) Upon appearing to vote in any election, the voter must present the Voter ID card at the polling place.

(c) (e) A person who is not eligible or not duly registered to vote shall not be permitted to vote at any election in any subdivision of the state, except that such a voter may cast a "provisional" or "challenged" ballot as provided in this chapter if the voter's eligibility or registration is in question, and such "provisional" or "challenged" ballot may be counted only if a positive determination of the voter's eligibility and proper registration can be ascertained.

§3-2-5. Forms for application for registration; information required and requested; types of application forms; notices.

(a) (1) All state forms for application for voter registration shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State and shall conform with the requirements of 42 U. S. C.§1973gg, et seq., the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the requirements of the provisions of this article. Separate application forms may be prescribed for voter registration conducted by the clerk of the county commission, registration by mail, registration in conjunction with an application for motor vehicle driver’s license and registration at designated agencies. These forms may consist of one or more parts, may be combined with other forms for use in registration by designated agencies or in conjunction with driver licensing and may be revised and reissued as required by the Secretary of State to provide for the efficient administration of voter registration.

(2) Notwithstanding any provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection to the contrary, the federal postcard application for voter registration issued pursuant to 42 U. S. C.§1973, et seq., the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 and the mail voter registration application form prescribed by the Federal Election Commission pursuant to 42 U. S. C.§1973gg, et seq., the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, are accepted as valid forms of application for registration pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(3) The Secretary of State is authorized to promulgate procedures to permit persons to register to vote through a secure electronic voter registration system.

(b) Each application form for registration shall include:

(1) A statement specifying the eligibility requirements for registration and an attestation that the applicant meets each eligibility requirement;

(2) Any specific notice or notices required for a specific type or use of application by 42 U. S. C.§1973gg, et seq., the National Voter Registration Act of 1993;

(3) A notice that a voter may be permitted to vote the partisan primary election ballot of a political party only if the voter has designated that political party on the application for registration unless the political party has determined otherwise;

(4) The applicant’s driver’s license number or an identification number issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles. If the applicant does not have a driver’s license or an identification card issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, then the last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number; and

(5) Any other instructions or information essential to complete the application process.

(c) Each application form shall require that the following be provided by the applicant, under oath, and an application which does not contain each of the following is incomplete:

(1) The applicant’s legal name, including the first name, middle or premarital name, if any, and last name;

(2) The month, day, and year of the applicant’s birth;

(3) The applicant’s residence address including the number and street or route and city and county of residence except:

(A) In the case of a person eligible to register under the provisions of 42 U. S. C.§1973ff, et seq., the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the address at which he or she last resided before leaving the United States or entering the uniformed services, or if a dependent child of such a person, the address at which his or her parent last resided;

(B) In the case of a homeless person having no fixed residence address who nevertheless resides and remains regularly within the county, the address of a shelter, assistance center or family member with whom he or she has regular contact or other specific location approved by the clerk of the county commission for the purposes of establishing a voting residence; or

(C) In the case of a participant in the Address Confidentiality Program administered by the Secretary of State in accordance with §48-28-103 of this code, the designated address assigned to the participant by the Secretary of State; and

(4) The applicant’s signature, under penalty of perjury as provided in §3-2-36 of this code, to the attestation of eligibility to register to vote and to the truth of the information given. The clerk may accept the electronically transmitted signature kept on file with another approved state database for an applicant who applies to register to vote using an approved electronic voter registration system in accordance with procedures promulgated by the Secretary of State.

(d) The applicant shall be requested to provide the following information but no application may be rejected for lack of this information:

(1) An indication whether the application is for a new registration, change of address, change of name or change of party affiliation;

(2) The applicant’s choice of political party affiliation, if any, or an indication of no affiliation. An applicant who does not enter a choice of political party affiliation is listed as having no party affiliation on the voting record;

(3) The applicant’s residence mailing address if different than the residence street address;

(4) The last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number;

(5) The applicant’s telephone number;

(6) The applicant’s e-mail address;

(7) The address where the applicant was last registered to vote, if any, for the purpose of cancelling or transferring the previous registration; and

(8) The applicant’s gender; and

(9) The voter shall sit for a photo ID to be made at the time of in-person application for a voter registration card.

(e) The Secretary of State shall prescribe the printing specifications of each type of voter registration application and the voter registration application portion of any form which is part of a combined agency form: Provided, That any physical voter registration records created under this article may be destroyed under the process described in W.Va. Code §3-2-29 of this code.

(f) Application forms prescribed in this section may refer to various public officials by title or official position but in no case may the actual name of an officeholder be printed on the voter registration application or on any portion of a combined application form.

(g) No later than July 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Secretary of State shall submit the specifications of the voter registration application by mail for statewide bidding for a contract period beginning September 1 of each odd-numbered year and continuing for two calendar years. The successful bidder shall produce and supply the required mail voter registration forms at the contract price to all purchasers of the form for the period of the contract.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require voter ID cards to come with a photograph of the voter.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.